BBC's Tracy-Jo Smith"He said in real life most gadgets expired or exploded as he touched them" real 28kSusan Hernu, author of his biography"He added an entirely different dimension to the Bond films" real 28k

Monday, 27 December, 1999, 13:12 GMT
Bond lovers mourn Q

Desmond Llewelyn appeared in all but two Bond films

Fans and film critics have paid tribute to James Bond actor Desmond Llewelyn after he was killed in a head-on car crash.

Now he has died I don't think Bond will be the same again, because he was just so good at it

Film critic Derek Malcolm

Llewelyn, 85, who attained cult status among movie-goers in his role as caustic quartermaster Q, was killed while driving on the A27, near Firle, East Sussex.

His son, Ivor, 50, told of the family's shock, saying: "We are just devastated because like any car crash it is totally unexpected and totally sudden."

Ivor, who lived opposite his father in Bexhill, East Sussex, added: "He ate with us every evening when he was at home.

"He was so pleased to have done the last James Bond film and as an actor he liked to be
working, he was such a very active man.

"Really what you saw in the films was what he was. He was a very kind man, very loveable man."

'He hated gadgets'

Film critic Barry Norman said: "Q was quite the biggest part that he played and really the only one that he will be remembered for - and he played it
very well.

Barry Norman: 'He played Q so well'

"It is sad and ironic that it was quite clear in the latest film that it was to be his last.

"From the very first Bond movie, he really did little else other than Q, but he had done some very good work beforehand.

"He was in A Night to Remember, which was quite the best film to be made about the sinking of the Titanic."

Llewelyn's biographer, Sandy Hernu, said the actor was "a lovely man, absolutely genuine and kind person, one of the kindest people I have met".

She said: "He was enormously funny and entertaining and loved telling me lots of stories, and was great fun to be with."

She added: "Unlike his character he hated gadgets - they just were not him."

Llewelyn starred alongside Sean Connery

And she said the veteran actor refused to agree that The World is Not Enough was his last Bond film.

She said: "He loved doing them. He loved them and the reaction he got from the fans.

"It wasn't until we started touring with the book that I started to appreciate how much his fans absolutely adored him."

Llewelyn was due to sign copies of Q, The Biography of Desmond Llewelyn, at
Forbidden Planet in New Oxford Street, central London, on Monday.

Derek Malcolm, film critic for The Guardian newspaper, said: "The thing about him was that he was very likeable on screen despite the fact that he was evil, creating these terrible things to give to Bond to kill his enemies.

"Now he has died I don't think Bond will be the same again, because he was just so good at it.

"He was actually a very kind and gentle man, he did a lot of work outside of films.

"But it was because of the Bond films that he really got known."

'Massive injuries'

Llewelyn had been at a book signing event before Sunday's fatal accident in which his blue Renault Megane collided with another car.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said he was airlifted from the scene by helicopter and taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The spokeswoman said Mr Llewelyn, who was travelling alone, had suffered "massive" internal injuries.

The other car involved in the crash was a bronze Fiat Bravo company car driven by a 35-year-old man, who was seriously injured, but is now in a stable condition in hospital. His female companion suffered minor injuries.